I have Captured my White Whale

As some of you may know, I have been pursuing a type set of Prooflike coinage for some time now. I am also interested in Bust Halves. Thus, a prooflike Bust Half has been something I've desired for a very long time.

These coins are available, but scarce. There are 43 certified by NGC for the series, which represents about 0.12% of the certified population of Bust Halves. In terms of scarcity, that puts them at about the same level as the Barber dime, Barber Half, and Seated Half Dime.

There are many dates with PL CBHs known. The most common are 1821, 1823, and 1829 with 7 each. One of the 1829s is a DPL, the only one for the series. Of course, there is no telling how many of these are re-submittals. The 1834 is the fourth most common date, with a total of 5 graded.

The grade distribution of PL Bust Halves ranges from AU-55 to MS-66. 7 of the total are either 55 or 58. The majority of the PL CBHs range from 62-64.

So, I've been on a quest for one of these for years (since I started my PL set, really). Every time I saw one, it was always out of my budget, or bid to a really high premium. I bid on an 1836 graded AU-55 * PL a few years ago, which sold for a tremendous premium ($1645). Despite a slight amount of wear, the mirrored fields shone through.

Each time I bid on a prooflike bust half, she escaped me.... Until now.

I saw the present coin come up in a recent Heritage auction, and, through a bit of luck, I found myself in possession of a small horde of cash. I bid quite strongly for this piece, and won it for well below my bid. The market for Prooflike coinage was very strong a year or two ago, but it has cooled back off to reasonable levels (it seems to me). The present coin has sold 2 other times on Heritage in the last 10 years, once for the same amount (in 2013), once for quite a bit more than I paid (in 2008).

Prooflike Bust coinage is often quite attractive. These are (often) the very first strikes after the dies were used for proofs. Several of the other 1834 PLs are probably from this (O-101 and O-110 were both used for proofs, and both have PL strikes designated). The coin I won, however, is an O-109. As far as I know, this marriage was not used for proofs. This marriage is interesting because it was actually not struck until 1835 or 1836. The dies sat around until they were needed, and the mint began using up the old dies before the transitioning to the new presses and the reeded edge halves (according to Edgar Souders). My theory, then, is that these dies sat in storage, and were lapped or polished before being put into use. The obverse dies have traces of rusting behind Liberty's head, which lends credence to my theory. There are traces of very fine die polish on both sides of the coin.

The coin arrived the other day, and is simply gorgeous. The fields are noticeably reflective. The strike is average (somewhat weak), with incompleteness in the hair and eagle's feathers. These are undoubtedly as struck, as the luster is complete over these high points. The patina is unquestionable original, and fantastically attractive. The sky blue rims fade to lavender and gold centers, on both sides. The reflective fields highlight and accentuate the toning. It is graded NGC MS-63 PL. This is a special coin!

It is, of course, ridiculously hard to photograph as well - below you can see Heritage's photos, and my feeble attempts. I hope you enjoy, and if you have any Prooflike Bust coinage to share, post away

 

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Congratulations, that is gorgeous!

 

That is an absolute stunner. Congratulations!!!

 

Yes, gorgeous, stunning and brilliant!

 

Congrats on that acquisition; beautiful looking coin and one that I am sure has to be seen in person to be fully appreciated!

 

Pretty coin. Great choice for the set.

 

Beautiful coin.

 

Wow, congrats Jason!

 

Whoa! Very nice! Great job on the whale.

 

Looks more like a Blue Whale to me

 

Great lookin' coin, thanks for the write-up!

 

DANG

 

Woah!

 

Amazing find and congratulations on getting it!

 

YAY!!!!

Always nice when one of us lands the whale!!!!

 

That is something very special, sir.

Good for you!

 

Congrats on you hard fought find , She's a beauty all right .

 

a real beauty!

I have one PL somewhere, I'll try to find the picture.

 

Here it is:

1829 O-104





light cleaning.

 

That would have been a really nice coin, without having been cleaned

I can't see it well in the pictures, but are you sure it is hairlines from cleaning and not die polish? I've shown PL's to people (that were very original, and gorgeous PL's, but covered with die polish), that people thought were just harshly polished cleaned coins.